


Smoker

by Canadiantardis



Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Fear of Death, Fire, Gen, Kid Deceit | Janus Sanders, One Shot, blink and you miss patton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26690641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis
Summary: There are things every kid is taught. Sinkholes are dangerous and you should move slowly so you don’t sink and die. If you catch fire, you must Stop, Drop, and Roll. Never talk to strangers or follow them if they promise things like candy or cute animals or if they say they know your parents.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920886
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	Smoker

**Author's Note:**

> Day 13: Oxygen Mask  
> This is definitely one of the shorter fics I will be writing for the event. I didn't have much of an idea outside what I wrote here, but still, I think it's good  
> I don't have a good age for Janus in this fic, I'm pretty sure he's an older kid but not a pre-teen yet. between 7-10 I think.

There are things every kid is taught. Sinkholes are dangerous and you should move slowly so you don’t sink and die. If you catch fire, you _must_ Stop, Drop, and Roll. Never talk to strangers or follow them if they promise things like candy or cute animals or if they say they know your parents but you don't recognize them.

But there are things that were not taught to every kid as they grew up, like how _in_ a fire, you should not Stop, Drop, and Roll in the burning building, or how the smoke makes things hard to breathe or see.

Janus coughed hard, but more smoke poured into his lungs. The smoke got into his eyes, making them sting something awful. He had tears running down his cheeks as he made himself small. He couldn’t get out of his room. The doorknob burned his hand when he tried to turn it, and the wood of his door felt uncomfortably warm. His window was open as much as it could, but he couldn’t fit through it, nor would he want to. He was on the fourth floor of the apartment complex. He may know very little, but he knew heights were scary and no one would be able to survive a jump that high.

He just had to hope firefighters got there soon.

He hid in his closet, curling up and stuffing a clean shirt over his mouth and nose. It helped with the smoke, at least with breathing, but he was still coughing it up, his throat feeling dry and scratchy.

He had no idea where his mom was. He hadn’t heard her over the sounds of the fire, but he hoped she was okay. She must be so scared, like him. She didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t know where she was either.

Then… _there,_ a distant but shrill scream, calling his name. It sounded like it was coming from outside.

On unsteady legs, keeping the shirt over his lower face, Janus stumbled to the window, glancing around his room and seeing how the doorknob looked bright red compared to the muted metal it had always been before. He made his way to the open part of the window and glanced around worriedly before he saw the crowd standing a fair distance from the apartment. It seemed just as he spotted them, a few noticed him and began pointing and another scream called his name.

“Mom!” He shouted as best he could, removing the shirt from his mouth to not be muffled, and he waved wildly. “Mom!!”

“Jay!” His mom screamed, and he spotted her being held back by their neighbours. “My baby’s still in there!”

A concerning sound echoed throughout Janus’ room and he ducked back in, inhaling more smoke and almost dropping to the ground as he coughed and hacked away. There were shouts and screams outside but he couldn’t focus on that. His mom was okay. That was all that really mattered to him. He just had to wait. The firefighters would get there and save him.

He just had to wait. But he had no idea how long he had.

A loud crack had him snapping his head towards his bedroom door to see fire licking the bottom of the frame and he screamed. It was much too hot and the smoke was getting worse. The shirt was barely working now and all he could taste was smoke and ash. He stumbled back, to the furthest place from his door and crouched down, finding it a bit easier to breathe down to the floor.

The fire did not stop edging closer. He was trapped in his room as the door warped and snapped and broke to the floor and the wave of heat almost bowled Janus over. His hair stuck to his face and he panted through the shirt. It was too hot, too hot, much too hot.

Finally, he heard the tell-tale sirens of the firefighters and wanted to whoop for joy, but the inhale only caused him to cough. The floor was beginning to heat up uncomfortably and the fire caught on his toys near the door, spreading further and further into his room and closer and closer to _him._ But he had no energy left to move. He could barely breathe, and his arms and legs left too heavy to move. He whimpered as the floor started to burn.

Janus wasn’t sure what happened after that moment. He shut his eyes, hoping to block out whatever was going to come next. He felt hot, burning pain alight his body, screams almost ripped from his throat, and then he couldn’t stop, the pain wouldn’t stop, and he couldn’t hear anything over the roar of the fire all around him and his own screams bouncing in his head like a ping-pong ball.

He came to with something over his mouth and nose, and clear, fresh, and pure air entered his body. He jolted and coughed, and adult hands came up to his back and shoulder, saying something too fast for him to pay attention, but then the pain returned on part of his face and he whined, trying to reach for it but hands stopped him, even as he now struggled against it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, kiddo.” A man said clearly, and Janus tried to open his eyes but couldn’t. “You’re safe now. Just breathe, that’s it, kiddo.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [ LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:  
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> This author replies to comments.


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